CHAPTER 287: THE BETRAYAL

"WAKE UP, EVERYONE!"

Hmm?

Wonhee, who was disoriented after getting stabbed by Lee Seodam in the back, was shocked when she heard a loud and unfamiliar voice.

It was followed by a strong gust of wind.

Thanks to that, the miasma that restrained Song Moonho, Graham, and Semi scattered— setting them free. That short moment was enough for the three Hunters to move and avoid the miasma that was quickly clustering again.

But the vapor couldn’t come near the now-aware Hunters.

Song Moonho’s undead monster— a small wyvern— appeared and grabbed Lee Seodam by the neck.

Graham then raised his hands and sent hundreds of red fireballs to burn the traitor to ashes.

Semi, on the other hand, caught Wonhee before she hit the ground.

"Hee-ya, I’m going to pull out the sword and it’s going to hurt a lot," Semi whispered in a low voice. "But I’ll pour a Special Grade potion right away to close the wound so you won’t lose too much blood."

Wonhee, who didn’t have the strength to speak, only nodded her head weakly.

Semi immediately pulled out the sword, causing Wonhee to bite her lower lip until she tasted blood in her mouth.

It hurts...

The pain was greater than Wonhee expected.

Her body collapsed immediately, and her older sister helped her properly lay down on the floor.

Then Semi poured a Special Grade potion all over Wonhee’s chest.

Thank goodness.

The pain was immediately lessened.

But it still hurt, nonetheless.

It feels like my heart is still being crushed even though the sword has been pulled out of my chest already...

"Stay with me, Hee-ya," Semi said, her voice in a panic. "Please..."

Unfortunately, Wonhee’s consciousness slowly faded away.

***

TSK.

Bitna was disappointed to be greeted with such a view.

Jang Semi was busy attending to Chu Wonhee’s wounds.

Song Moonho and Han Graham were busy chasing and fighting Lee Seodam.

The so-called Big 4 practically left the System— in all its vulnerability— defenseless.

Bitna saw the miasma slowly crawling its way up the "flowery brain."

Had she not been there, the miasma would have successfully corrupted the System.

That wouldn’t end the world— but the System would have fallen into the wrong hands.

"Humans are really stupid," Bitna said, the honeycomb-like barrier made of her Mana pushing the miasma away from the System. "Why would anyone join hands with the Virus just to stop world peace?"

She wasn’t really expecting a response.

But the System "spoke."

[Not many humans would, but the Virus did well finding the right people to manipulate.]

"Did you not expect Lee Seodam to betray you?"

[The Virus has always been good at hiding its presence. Hence, I wouldn’t know if a Hunter had betrayed the System and joined the other side. That was how the other worlds perished as well.]

"Not our world," Bitna said, looking up. "I won’t let this world be controlled by those damned Cracks just to boost the ego of some insecure men."

Lee Seodam wasn’t even using his own strength to fight Song Moonho and Han Graham.

The miasma that the traitor was wielding obviously belonged to the Virus.

None of the Hunters here know how to fight the miasma.

And, yet, Song Moonho and Han Graham knew that they shouldn’t touch it. That was why the two were avoiding Lee Seodam’s attacks while getting pushed away.

This fight isn’t worth dying for.

Moreover, Bitna could see it.

Half of Lee Seodam’s body was covered with miasma to hide the fact that his body had already turned translucent.

That means the fucking traitor is no longer here physically.

"Song Moonho, Han Graham, retreat!" Bitna yelled loudly. "Let the coward run away— that’s the only thing he’s good at anyway!"

Fortunately, Song Moonho and Han Graham were smart enough to heed her warning.

On the other hand, Lee Seodam looked down to glare at Bitna with his red eyes.

Red eyes.

Of course, it was normal for high-ranking Hunters’ eyes to turn red once they ran out of Mana or they lacked Guiding.

But Lee Seodam’s red eyes were different— the glint in it wasn’t due to lack of Mana.

It was because of the Virus.

That traitor bastard has become the Virus’ host in this world.

"What are you looking at, coward?" Bitna asked, smirking at Lee Seodam condescendingly. "If you want to prove me wrong, then come down and fight me. But don’t run away crying if an S-Class Hunter like you loses to me— a little Guide."

"You better wish this would be our last encounter," Lee Seodam said angrily. "I’ll kill you the next time I see you."

Bitna laughed and shrugged. "Be my guest, coward."

And Lee Seodam glared at Bitna until he completely vanished.

As soon as it happened, the "sky" began to collapse while the ground shook hard.

"The dungeon is collapsing," Bitna said, clicking her tongue. "We must leave."

[Take me with you.]

It was the System.

[Guide Bitna, use that Item to take me out of the dungeon.]

Ah, that Item?

I knew there was a reason the System granted me with such a weird Item.

"Alright," Bitna said, pulling out the huge Honeypot Item from her Inventory. "This Honeypot is like a mini dungeon, right?"

***

WHEN WONHEE opened her eyes, the first person who greeted her was neither a friend nor a family.

It was a woman with green hair.

The other woman was petite, but she looked around Wonhee’s age.

"Are you Bitna?"

Wonhee asked that question in a hoarse voice, and just saying those three words was enough to scratch her throat uncomfortably.

"Yes, I am Bitna," the woman said, handing Wonhee a glass of water. "We finally met, Wonhee."

She wanted to say she was glad to meet Bitna, too.

But Wonhee drank water first.

It was warm, and it tasted a bit sweet.

"Ah, I should have told you that I put a drop of potion in there," Bitna said. "Don’t worry, it’s good for you."

Wonhee shouldn’t be trusting a stranger after Lee Seodam’s betrayal.

But she felt at ease with her new friend.

Even so, being stabbed in the back— literally and figuratively— still stung.

"Bitna, what happened after I passed out?" Wonhee asked nervously. "What’s the effect of Lee Seodam’s betrayal."

Instead of answering verbally, Bitna stood up and opened the black curtains.

"Look at it with your own eyes, Chu Wonhee."

And she saw it.

Wonhee felt a shiver down her spine after seeing several Cracks in the sky.

It’s like the first day of the Outbreak!

The Second Apocalypse had truly begun.

***

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